Literary agent and editor Timothy Seldes died of complications from pneumonia at age 88 this past Saturday, according to the AP (via Newsday).
Seldes came from a creative family: his sister was Tony-winning actress Marian Seldes, his father the drama critic and author Gilbert Seldes, and his uncle the press critic George Seldes.
Timothy Seldes entered the book business working as a clerk in Manhattan at a Doubleday store, with later stints at Macmillan and Harcourt Brace. Most of his editing work occurred at Doubleday where, as managing editor, his authors included Isaac Asimov and Richard Wright. In 1972, Seldes purchased the agency Russell & Volkening and represented clients from Anne Tyler and Eudora Welty to Saul Bellow and Nadine Gordimer. Seldes sold Russell & Volkening to Lippincott Massie McQuilkin in 2012 and had been retired since then.
"The space Tim Seldes will leave behind is enormous," Tyler wrote to the AP. "He was so vibrant and engaged and such a celebrator, and a wonderful friend to writers."